Daniel Hiester (June 25, 1747 – March 7, 1804) was an American political and military leader from the Revolutionary War period to the early 19th Century. Born in Berks County, Pennsylvania, he was a member of the Hiester Family political dynasty. He was the brother of John Hiester and Gabriel Hiester, cousin of Joseph Hiester, and the uncle of William Hiester and U.S. Rep. Daniel Hiester (1774–1834).

Hiester's father, also named Daniel Hiester, emigrated from Silesia in 1737 and settled in Goshenhoppen (now Bally), Pennsylvania, afterward purchasing a tract of several thousand acres in Berks County. After completing his education, the young Hiester engaged in the mercantile business in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.

During the American Revolution, Hiester served as a colonel and later a brigadier general of the Pennsylvania Militia. He was a member of the Pennsylvania General Assembly from 1778 to 1781.[1] In 1784 he was elected to the supreme executive council of Pennsylvania, and later in 1787 he was appointed as a commissioner to negotiate the Connecticut land claims dispute.

Hiester was elected to the United States House of Representatives representing Pennsylvania, serving from March 4, 1789 until his resignation on July 1, 1796. He then moved to Hagerstown, Maryland, and was again elected to the House representing Maryland, serving from March 4, 1801, until his death in Washington, D.C., on March 7, 1804. He was among the number that voted to move the U.S. capital from Philadelphia to a place on the Potomac later named Washington, D.C.

Daniel Heister, a Revolutionary War colonel and member of Congress, was born in Marlborough Township in 1747. He served both Pennsylvania and Maryland as a representative and was a merchant by profession. According to historical documents, he was a frequent dinner guest at the home of President George Washington and even had a Liberty ship named after him, the SS Daniel Heister, during World War II. His house in Sumneytown is now on the register of historic places and the land surrounding has been added to the Unami Forest preserve